The People’s Democratic National Security State of Heaven

A school district in Texas came under fire earlier this year when it announced that it would require students to wear microchip-embedded ID cards at all times. Now, students who refuse to be monitored say they are feeling the repercussions.

Since October 1, students at John Jay High School and Anson Jones Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, have been asked to attend class with photo ID cards equipped with radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips to track every pupil’s location. Educators insist that the endeavor is being rolled out in Texas to stem the rampant truancy devastating the school’s funding. If the program is judged successful, the RFID chips could soon come to 112 schools in all and affect nearly 100,000 students.

Students who refuse to walk the school halls with the card in their pocket or around their neck claim they are being tormented by instructors, and are barred from participating in certain school functions. Some also said they were turned away from common areas like cafeterias and libraries.

Andrea Hernandez, a sophomore at John Jay, said educators have ignored her pleas to respect her privacy and told her she cannot participate in school elections if she refuses to comply with the tracking program.

Hernandez said in an interview with Salon that subjecting herself to constant monitoring through an RFID chip is like being branded with the “mark of the beast” – a reference to the Bible’s apocalyptic Book of Revelations. When she reached out to WND with the school’s response, though, she said that she was threatened with not being allowed to vote for her school’s homecoming king and queen for disobeying the student ID rule.

You know, being as how the purpose of the “mark” in the Book of Revelation was to cause “all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark” (Rev 13: 16-17) this *does* look uncannily like the biblical author might have something on the ball when it comes to perceiving Caesar’s all-consuming desire to control every single aspect of our existence or mete out punishments to those who resist. I hope the students and their families tell this school district to go to hell.

Deuteronomy speaks of the Israelites bearing their love of God as a sign on their right hand and as a pendant upon their foreheads, that the Lord might rule over their thoughts and deeds. Nevertheless, I have always wondered about the more literal interpretation of Rev’s “mark”, and I do enjoy a good conspiracy theory now and then. There is a company called “Digital Angel” that, a few years back was making sub-dermal rf-id chips that could be used to pay at rfid-compatible checkouts (those “swipe and go” deals)… It sounded too blatantly obvious to actually be a threat at first…

The thing that stood out for me in this story was what exactly the rampant truancy was devastating. As a teacher, my mind leaped ahead upon reading the phrase, anticipating something like ‘devastating the students’ education’ or perhaps their potential or something actually related to the raison d’etre of the school. But no, it seems the worst effect, than which there can be no greater, is the hit taken to the school’s funding.

deiseach

How is this going to combat truancy? Were I mitching from school, the first thing I would do would be to leave my tracker ID at home (or stuffed in a bush) precisely so they couldn’t find out where I was!

Ridiculous.

beccolina

Or stuff it into a buddies binder. “I was in class that day! My tracker says so.”

Mark, you are accepting an assumption that is by no means proven, that having having RFID tags makes people safe. Don’t give them an inch. Make them prove it.

Mark Shea

Your doubting the justice and wisdom of our Rulers demonstrates that you are a threat to yourself and others. You have been placed on a CareWatch list, along with your family. Please report to the Department of Public Safety for chipping immediately.

This reminds me of when I was in nursing school and I had a few clinical days helping a school nurse. I was home schooled and, even though my dad works for a charter school, I never had much experience with “real” school (as we called it). I felt like I was entering a prison. I had to buzz in at the door, explain to them who I was, enter the offices at the entrance, show them my badge, explain who I was again, sign a guestbook, obtain a visitor badge and then someone had to escort me to the school nurse’s office.